Toronto FC Will Pay Tribute to Past Greats for their 10th Anniversary

To celebrate the team’s 10th anniversary, Toronto FC will commemorate club royalty.

This Toronto FC season is a special one, not just because they have a real shot at contending, but also because it’s their 10th anniversary since coming into the MLS. The club has known this for a while now, and is pulling out all the stops to ensure that their club legends get a proper commemoration. That’s why, for specific home games this season, there will be a different ceremony for a TFC legend in what will be known as the Heritage Series.

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Per the official Toronto FC website, the first ceremony will come in an all Canadian clash against the Vancouver Whitecaps on May 14th which will see the team celebrate the achievements of inaugural goalscorer Danny Dichio. Besides scoring the club’s first ever goal, he has played a significant role with TFC off the pitch as well, becoming a coach for the Toronto FC senior team and Academy (which is his current position).

And if you ever needed an excuse to relive that legendary first goal, then here you go:

The second ceremony will be for popular defender Jim Brennan on July 23 against DC United. He will forever be remembered as the first captain in Toronto FC history, as well as a Canadian soccer Hall of Famer. He was part of the first two TFC teams to win the Amway Canadian Championship back in 2009 and 2010 and, like Dichio, stayed with the team in a coaching role.

NEW BEDFORD, MA – JULY 5: Toronto Metros-Croatia Eusebio (left) moves the ball up-field against his former teammate Boston Minutemen Peter Nover at Sargent Field in New Bedford, Mass. on July 5, 1976, (Photo by George Rizer/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /

Toronto Metros-Croatia, the first ever professional soccer team to come out of the Big Smoke, will also be honoured in the 401 Derby against Montreal on August 27. That was always going to be a great game, but to see TMC get commemorated is a really cool gesture by the team since, without them, there surely wouldn’t be a Toronto FC today.

This celebration will be of the team’s first, and only, championship over the Minnesota Kicks which occurred 40 years ago. Eusebio was also a part of that winning team, proving that even at the ripe old age of 34, he could still win trophies. What a legend. Hopefully, 40 years later, Toronto FC can recreate the same magical scenes that TMC produced.

The final commemoration will occur on September 18 against the New York Red Bulls, where they will honour Dwayne De Rosario. An eternal legend and fan favourite, he still remains the all-time franchise leader in goals – although it won’t be long before Giovinco breaks that record. He and Brennan were on the same team that won Canadian Championships back to back, but DeRo was named tournament MVP in both years. Although some fans were salty over the nature of his departure, he came back to Toronto for one final season before hanging up his boots, and even scored his last goal in a Reds uniform.

And to get ready for the 401 Derby, here’s DeRo putting a hattrick past Montreal and leading an epic comeback to win the Canadian Championship:

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If you are going to any of these games, arrive early as the first 15,000 fans will receive a limited edition player card upon entry. There’s also tons of other giveaways that will be happening throughout the season – per the team’s official website – so be sure to keep your eyes peeled!

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